Apprentice Episode 2 - Product Owner vs. Project Manager

By Ben Green - ILX Group | 28 October 2015

Challenge 2 - Create a brand of shampoo, with a USP of the key ingredient, being cactus oil. Brand, bottle, produce and market.

The marketing challenge has been one of the more memorable tasks, in successive series.

Chapter 2 of the 2015 ordeal was no different, with the two teams battling to see who would come out smelling of roses.

The female team, headed by the suddenly prickly Aisha Kasim were immediately warned off failure; some would say a poor strategy.

After all, though seemingly paradoxical, failing fast can be one of the vital standpoints of an Agile, and Lean Start up approach.

With launching a product from nothing, would an immediate feedback loop not be useful, especially with the sub-team designing the bottle lacking a member of the target audience (Middle aged female)?

Already at a distinct advantage with Marketing firm Director Richard Woods at the helm, the boys employed a much more collaborative approach- at least on the surface.

Some argument could be made about Richard’s role as joint PM, Product owner, and yet occasional Scrum Master – though no formal stand ups were visible, the communication lines remained open, and the trust created a confident, productive team.

The benefits realisation of both teams really ran hot and cold- the chosen pitchers for the male and female approach lacked flow- a real example of how to not handle Stakeholder management.

The eventual execution and successful delivery of all products to the required quality, however, left them head and shoulders above the competition.

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